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Liu Y, Ma X, Mao F, Qiu J, Bi J, Li X, Gu X, Zheng Y, Zhao Y. HMGR and CHS gene cloning, characterizations and tissue-specific expressions in Polygala tenuifolia Willd. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0300895. [PMID: 38527035 PMCID: PMC10962832 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Triterpenoid saponins and flavonoids have several pharmacological activities against P. tenuifolia. The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) and chalcone synthase (CHS) are the rate-limiting enzymes of triterpenoid saponin and flavonoid biosynthesis, respectively. In this study, HMGR and CHS genes were cloned from P. tenuifolia, and their bioinformatics analyses and tissue-specific expression were investigated. The results showed that the HMGR and CHS genes were successfully cloned, separately named the PtHMGR gene (NCBI accession: MK424118) and PtCHS gene (NCBI accession: MK424117). The PtHMGR gene is 2323 bp long, has an open reading frame (ORF) of 1782 bp, and encods 593 amino acids. The PtCHS gene is 1633 bp long with an ORF of 1170 bp, encoding 389 amino acids. PtHMGR and PtCHS were both hydrophobic, not signal peptides or secreted proteins, containing 10 conserved motifs. PtHMGR and PtCHS separately showed high homology with HMGR and CHS proteins from other species, and their secondary structures mainly included α-helix and random curl. The tertiary structure of PtHMGR was highly similarity to that the template 7ULI in RCSB PDB with 92.0% coverage rate. The HMG-CoA-binding domain of PtHMGR is located at 173-572 amino acid residues, including five bound sites. The tertiary structure of PtCHS showed high consistency with the template 1I86 in RCSB PDB with 100% coverage rate, contained malonyl CoA and 4-coumaroyl-CoA linkers. The expression of PtHMGR and PtCHS is tissue-specific. PtHMGR transcripts were mainly accumulated in roots, followed by leaves, and least in stems, and were significantly positively correlated with the contents of total saponin and tenuifolin. PtCHS was highly expressed in the stems, followed by the leaves, with low expression in the roots. PtCHS transcripts showed a significant positive correlation with total flavonoids content, however, they were significantly negatively correlated with the content of polygalaxanthone III (a type of flavonoids). This study provided insight for further revealing the roles of PtHMGR and PtCHS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Liu
- College of Pharmacy, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
- Traditional Chinese Medicine Processing Technology Innovation Center of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
- International Joint Research Center on Resource Utilization and Quality Evaluation of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
| | - Xiaofang Ma
- Yinchuan Women and Children Health Care Hospital, Yinchuan, Ningxia, China
| | - Fuying Mao
- Experimental Center, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
| | - Jinmiao Qiu
- College of Pharmacy, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
| | - Jingyi Bi
- College of Pharmacy, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
| | - Xiaowei Li
- College of Pharmacy, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
| | - Xian Gu
- College of Pharmacy, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
| | - Yuguang Zheng
- Traditional Chinese Medicine Processing Technology Innovation Center of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
- Hebei Chemical and Pharmaceutical College, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
| | - Yunsheng Zhao
- College of Pharmacy, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
- Traditional Chinese Medicine Processing Technology Innovation Center of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
- International Joint Research Center on Resource Utilization and Quality Evaluation of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China
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Zhang S, Gong W, Han Z, Liu Y, Li C. Insight into Shared Properties and Differential Dynamics and Specificity of Secretory Phospholipase A 2 Family Members. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:3353-3363. [PMID: 33780247 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c01315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Understanding generic mechanisms of functions shared by the secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) family involved in the lipid metabolism and cell signaling and the molecular basis of function specificity for family members is an intriguing but challenging problem for biologists. Here, we explore the issue through extensive analyses using a combination of structure-based methods and bioinformatics tools on130 sPLA2 family members. The principal component analysis of the structure ensemble reveals that the enzyme has an open-close motion which helps widen the substrate binding channel, facilitating its binding to phospholipid. Performing elastic network model and sequence analyses found that the residues critical for family functions, such as cysteine and catalytic residues, are highly conserved and undergo minimal movements, which is evolutionarily essential as their perturbation would impact the function, while the four residue regions involved in the association with the calcium ion/membrane are lowly conserved and of high mobility and large variations in low-to-intermediate frequency modes, which reflects the specificity of members. The analyses from perturbation response scanning also reveal that the above four regions with high sensitivity to an external perturbation are member-specific, suggesting their different roles in allosteric modulation, while the minimal sensitive residues are the shared characteristics across family members, which play an important role in maintaining structural stability as the folding core. This study is helpful for understanding how sequences, structures, and dynamics of sPLA2 family members evolve to ensure their common and specific functions and can provide a guide for accurate design of proteins with finely tuned activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shan Zhang
- Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Weikang Gong
- Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Zhongjie Han
- Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Yang Liu
- Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Chunhua Li
- Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
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